Wake up the echoes

SPORTING GOODS

The Universities of Connecticut and Notre Dame have just inked a deal wherein they'll play six football games on a home and home basis. However, the devil (Can I say that when referring to the most famous Roman Catholic university in the US?) is in the details.

UConn officials and state legislators announced Wednesday they have reached an agreement that will allow the Huskies to play "home" games in a series with the Irish at out-of-state stadiums ...

The ... contract would cover a six-game series starting in 2011 and ending in 2017. Three games would be in South Bend; UConn's three "home" games would be in New York or New Jersey (most likely the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J.) or Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Sen. Gary Lebeau, D-East Hartford, introduced a bill last month that would have prohibited UConn "home" games from being played outside the state. It led to UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway testifying before the General Assembly's commerce committee on March 11.

On the question, would you travel to Foxborough, New York or New Jersey to watch UConn play Notre Dame? Courant reader sentiment is running neck and neck.

The two teams will also play a game, tentatively set for Nov. 21, 2009, in South Bend.

And, BTW, in UConn men's basketball news,

Hasheem Thabeet ... is not ready to shed any light on whether he will return to UConn for his junior season or enter the NBA draft.

I've said before that I don't expect Thabeet to go on at Storrs next year. However, as of this writing, a majority of Courant readers think otherwise.